I don't know how to begin because I am confused. Fundamentally, I believe that any individual (or company) should be able to express themselves freely, even if it offends others. My school of thought is that if you see something on television or hear something on the radio that offends you then turn the channel/station. You are not forced to watch or listen. In the past 10 years, special interest groups have gained too much influence over companies and wield their power whenever their feelings get hurt. Obviously, groups like GLAAD serve a great purpose, but when they demand apologies from Adam Carolla after making a joke about transgendered people on a comedy-based podcast then there is a real problem. It is comedy after all - the best part about comedy is that no one individual or group can tell others what is funny. And transgendered people are funny looking. With all of this being said - I don't agree with Fiat's latest commercial featuring Charlie Sheen - and that is what confuses me. If you haven't seen the commercial - please watch below:
No thats not Billy Joel off-roading again. That is admitted drug user and porn-star lover Charlie Sheen driving a glorified Mini Cooper through his house wearing an ankle bracelet while on house arrest. What a bad boy, right? Yeeeeee-uck. Where is the outcry from special interest groups? There are enough of them out there that surely one would protest this campaign and publicly demand an apology. How about women's rights groups for Fiat insinuating that Sheen will be sleeping with the model at the end of the commercial? Or for turning a blind eye to the porn connection? How about drug and alcohol groups for not taking cocaine and drug abuse seriously and showing a known drug user driving out of control?
For the record, I don't think that these groups should be demanding apologies. The spot isn't the smartest to put out there, but it draws on word of mouth, so I can live with it. More on this later. Where I have an issue with this is the flip side of advertising. Rush Limbaugh calls a Georgetown University law student a slut and the majority of advertisers pull their ads due to thousands of angry customers asking them to do so. Charlie Sheen does blow off a porn star's inner thigh and is featured in an ad 10 months later with nary the controversy. This is purely speculation, but I'm guessing Chrysler (Fiat's parent company), would of pulled out of the Limbaugh program due to the same fake rage as all of the other companies. For as much as I love advertisers, they are such hypocrites when it comes to sticking with programming that makes an unpopular stance such as Limbaugh's rant. For the record, I do not support Rush Limbaugh. I probably lean more his way than the other politically, but I would rather be forced to sit through a Broadway translation of the latest Justin Bieber album than listen to his show.
In the end, Fiat should be able to feature whoever they want in their ads. The company is spending the money, trying to create a buzz. Using a controversial star is a risky move for a company that isn't a household name in the United States. Then again, so is featuring Jennifer Lopez dancing on top of cars. I'm pretty sure Jenny from the Block doesn't drive a Fiat through the Bronx. Now Charlie Sheen driving a Fiat over J Lo's huge ass like he is climbing Mt. Everest? This I can tolerate. I just don't want to hear it on the flip side when advertisers start pulling dollars from other programs when somebody's feelings get hurt. Some people were livid over Rush's comments, while others are offended by this commercial. Everybody has the right to offended.
No comments:
Post a Comment